Freddy from the Block

Freddy’s fundraiser at Coda last night was closed to the press (new regime!), but a Politicker spy tells us that the event was well-attended, and that the candidate really turned it on for the first time in a while. He promised to fight and throw punches. He also went after Mike for spending money on Astroturf instead of after-school programs.

Here’s our correspondent’s rendering of part of what he said:

“You all know a little bit about my story, where I came from. I grew up on Fox Street, a little ways away from here, in the South Bronx. I grew up there, played stickball on a tough street. And that’s where I learned how to fight. And you make judgments very early on. And it wasn’t about picking the fights you could win; it was getting in the fights that were right. Getting in the fights that meant something. And something you learned very quick: those kinds of fights you never walk away from. Those kinds of fights you always stay in because winning them means something. So if I’ve gotta take some punches, that’s ok. I know who I’m taking those punches for….

“I’m from Fox Street, I’m glad to take those punches because I know who I’m taking them for. And I want to remind you, I just don’t only take punches, I give a couple too. I’ll throw a couple to the people who stand back and can’t figure out a way to expend some political will and say, ‘look, we’ve gotta come up with a way to find billions of dollars to educate our kids right here in this city.’ If they’re too cowardly to find a way, let them stand aside, because somebody’s willing to lead….

“We’re going to have an open and honest debate about what will each of us put on the table to make this city, the greatest city on Earth, a city that works better for every New Yorker. Now I believe that’s a fight worth getting into, that’s a fight worth taking punches for, and that’s a fight worth administering a few punches about. To me, that’s even more than a fight. To me, that’s a cause….”

“I see the faces who are all depending on us to fight the fight that they may not be able to get in the ring for. But I damn well can and I will this November.”